At last, a bit of sanity

Great news today from the Pac-12 Conference — the Oct. 20 Big Game at Memorial Stadium will start at high noon, to be telecast on Fox.

I think most fans prefer their games to be played in daylight, although there was something special about seeing Cal-UCLA under the lights at Memorial on Saturday night. Perhaps it was the result that made it special.

This Big Game marks the 30th anniversary of The Play, that remarkable 57-yard kickoff return featuring five laterals with no time remaining that turned a 20-19 Cal loss into a 25-20 Cal victory.

In another lifetime, I covered that game for the original San Francisco Examiner (accept no substitutes). I can still recall my heart pounding in the seconds leading up to Stanford’s seeming game-winning field goal. I can also recall my disbelief at what I was seeing transpire on the kickoff return.

With 35 years in as a sportswriter, that game remains the team sport highlight of my career, and I also covered four of the 49ers’ five Super Bowl championships.